“Gate RI is a non-profit organization 501(c) 3 whose mission is to provide adolescent girls with the opportunities to develop their voices and build their identities as leaders in their local communities and to foster discussion about community-based issues.” Butler will be delivering a keynote speech at their first, annual event on November 11th in Providence, RI. Find out more about GATE RI, here.

Representatives from the Rhode Island United Way Foundation knew that they wanted to create a conference that was centered around equity and meeting the needs of every student. In doing so, Butler was one of 6 panelists chosen to lead a 45 minute discussion at ALC: Lights on After School 2018 on how after school programs can better utilize their approaches to influence student outcomes and the better use of out of school time to engage students.

A year later from when Butler gave her first TED Talk in 2017, titled The Untold Truth, the TEDxProvidence committee reached out to her in hopes that Butler would Emcee the 2018 TEDx event. The theme for the event was “The Time is Now”. Butler knew the timing was appropriate for much needed conversations to take place and so she accepted the role as TEDxProvidence’s 2018 Emcee.

University of Rhode Island’s Gender & Sexuality Department reached out to Kiara Butler in hopes of her kicking off their annual Big Gay Picnic. Butler deliver a keynote speech at the University of Rhode Island’s first free standing Gender and Sexuality building in the world. It was built specifically for the purpose of serving the LGBTQ community.

Butler shared her story on the Everett Company Stage during a series event called Brain Cafe. This event was specifically tailored around topics of Secrets & Silence

One out of four girls and one out of six boys in the US will be sexually abused before they turn eighteen. 90% of the victims will know their abuser. The topic of child sexual abuse is fraught with taboos in our society and the fear of addressing the subject is part of the problem.

"“A lot of people say there’s not a correlation between student-teacher relations and suspension rate,” Butler said. “But I have a very strong belief that there is. If there were stronger relationships between teachers and students, suspension rates would go down.”

Participating in this workshop aligns with Diversity Talks’ mission, she said. The startup is currently seeking partnerships with school districts that have high suspension rates, high chronic absenteeism rates for students and teachers, high teacher turnover and a student-teacher diversity gap."

On September 30, 2017, Kiara Butler will be sharing her story- The Untold Truth, as a speaker at TEDxProvidence . Stories will be shared about Past Present Future, focused onlearning from the past, experiencing and influencing the present, and creating ourfuture. tickets.tedxprovidence.com

"A nascent, Rhode Island-based organization called Diversity Talks wants to change that by giving K-12 school districts and higher education institutions student-led professional development on approaching culturally sensitive topics.

Founded in 2016, the company includes two students—cofounders Taliq Tillman and Taiwo Demola, both high school seniors in Rhode Island. Kiara Butler, the CEO and the third cofounder, feels that for these conversations to be “truly personalized” and “truly student-centered,” students have to be “at the table.”"

“I first want to start off by saying that I am honored to be standing in front of you today. When I was your age, I would have never imagined that as a person born and raised in Mississippi, at the age of 26, I would be standing at a podium in the Rhode Island State House accepting an award. But it because of students like yourselves and students that have not yet found their voices, that I'm here.

The work that you've put into your projects this year speaks volume. You all are asking all the right questions and demanding that we as adults provide you with the answers. I'm sure while working on a lot of your projects, you've asked your teachers "How did we get here?" " Why is the world like this?" Your projects today are tackling issues such as LGBTQ Rights, gang violence, bullying, lack of teachers of color, etc. but these issues cannot be addressed without calling out the root cause. We live in a capitalist society that feeds off of oppression. The oppressors feed off of keeping you as students of color marginalized or shut out and as long as we continue to accept labels that are given to us, we will continue to nourish the bodies of the greedy.

When you enter back into your classrooms and push this very important work forward, I ask each of you to strip away the labels that you've been given and begin to choose titles that make you proud and amplify your voice. You are not a low-income student. You are a hustler. You are not a minority. You are the majority. You are not a failing student. You are resilient. You are not just a student in an "urban" school district but instead you are a warrior fighting against a school system that was not built for you and you are succeeding despite that.

You are Queens and Kings and you should be treated as Queens and Kings.

Before I leave you today I want to emphasize the importance of education and the work that you are doing around civic engagement. Civic engagement does not end when you complete your projects. Just like education does not end once you graduate high school. Education is one of the most powerful tools that you can use in life. No one can take away from you what you’ve learned. No one can defeat you but yourself. Throughout your journey in life, I want you to never give up on yourself, never compare yourself to others, and always think ahead with your end goal in mind. Don’t dwell on your current situation if it’s not what you expected it to be because ultimately you determine your future. Your path will be completely different from the person next to you and even if it takes extra time or extra help to complete your goals, know that it will be worth it in the end. I am proud of the work that you all have presented today. I wish you all a prosperous future and I hope that none of you ever accept defeat.”